By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
The African National Congress (ANC) Secretary General Fikile Mbalula explained the party’s stance on the parliamentary process concerning its President and the order of the Western Cape High Court.
The full bench of judges on Friday, ordered the temporary pause to preserve the status quo pending the outcome of president Cyril Ramaphosa fast-tracked review application challenging the independent panel’s Phala Phala report.
During the media briefing at Luthuli House on Tuesday, Mbalula said the court granted an interim order stopping public hearings by the parliamentary committee to allow Ramaphosa’s review application to be heard.
“It is a pause, not a cancellation,” Mbalula said.
He said the ANC’s position was that the process itself was important and that a fair process would give the country an outcome it could stand behind.
“The ANC asks the nation to hold one line. The process is what matters. A fair process will give the country a result it can stand behind,” Mbalula said.
Mbalula said the court had not ruled on whether Ramaphosa was right or wrong on the substance of the matter, but had protected the process to ensure it was conducted correctly.
“The court did not decide who is right or wrong on the substance. It protected the process so that it is done correctly,” he said.
He said Ramaphosa’s legal challenge should be allowed to proceed without being undermined or rushed.
“We know now the President is advancing a credible case. And it must be given its space and not be undermined or rushed over,” Mbalula said.
Mbalula also said the party has, for the first time, placed the selection of its mayoral candidates under the direct control of its national officials.
He said the centralised process was designed to ensure municipalities were led by ethical and capable leaders, describing it as “a centralised process built to answer the country’s demand for mayors who will serve and not steal”.
“Under the leadership of our cities and towns, the national officials of the ANC have for the first time taken direct and personal charge of choosing our mayoral candidates,” Mbalula said.
He said the process began with nominations from ANC branches and sectors before candidates were screened, shortlisted and subjected to an enhanced independent vetting process.
Mbalula said the candidate selection process would be completed before the manifesto launch and that some of the successful mayoral candidates would immediately take up positions where vacancies existed.
The party will officially launch its 2026 local government elections manifesto on 15 August and also unveil its mayoral candidates.
Meanwhile the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) has filed an urgent application for direct access to the Constitutional Court to overturn a Western Cape High Court ruling.
The EFF believes party the majority judgment of the High Court is fundamentally flawed and ought to be overturned.
“The High Court improperly interfered with Parliament’s constitutional functions by stopping a process that Parliament is constitutionally empowered to conduct,” the party said.
“Section 89 of the Constitution entrusts Parliament with the responsibility to establish whether circumstances exist that may justify the removal of a president from office,”
“Therefore, the judiciary cannot undermine Parliament’s constitutional role by halting an inquiry before it has reached any conclusion.”
The EFF said it is in the interests of justice for the Constitutional Court to intervene urgently and determine the matter directly, rather than allowing a constitutional accountability process to remain suspended through prolonged litigation in the ordinary appellate process.
The uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) Party and United Africans Transformation (UAT) have now joined the EFF, the African Transformation Movement (ATM) in the direct appeal, becoming the fourth and fifth applicants in the matter.